Cameron ordered to turn over 'Avatar' scripts

Director James Cameron has been ordered to hand over his draft screenplays for Avatar to a former employee who claims the movie-maker stole his idea for the blockbuster.

Eric Ryder, who previously worked for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment Inc. production company, filed suit against Cameron in 2011, alleging the fantasy film was based on a script he wrote for a movie called K.R.Z. 2068.

Ryder is demanding compensation over claims that Cameron used his ideas without permission and without giving him due credit, but the director insists he wrote Avatar five years before his accuser pitched the idea to his production company.

The long-running legal battle went back to court in California this week and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Alan Rosenfield sided with Ryder by ordering Cameron to turn over the draft screenplays he wrote for Avatar.